ORFA: Over 55,000 Nigerians killed, 21,600 abducted in 4 years

A report released on Thursday, August 29, 2024, by an organisation, the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA), shows that over 55,000 Nigerians were killed and another 21,600 abducted in four years.

The ORFA report covered data on the security crisis from October 2019 to September 2023.

Nigeria is facing a severe security crisis with widespread violence, especially against religious communities.

This has led to the death of 55,910 in 9,970 attacks and 21,621 abductions in 2,705 incidents over four years.

Over four years, the organisation offered key insights into the patterns and dynamics of violent attacks.

ORFA, which monitors religious freedom and documents rights violations, expressed concern over Nigerian citizens killed by insurgents.

It noted that terror groups operated freely, targeting civilians while the military pursued distant targets.

ORFA records of killings

ORFA recorded 11,610 distinct attacks involving killings or abductions.

Of these, 8,905 involved only killings, 1,065 included both killings and abductions and 1,640 involved only abductions.

On average, there were 8 daily attacks involving killings or abductions over the past 4 years.

The figures include situations where civilians, security forces, and terror groups killed or abducted people.

The report stated: “Many civilians lived in high levels of insecurity and fear of the unexpected.

“For instance, eyewitnesses talked about children sleeping in trees at night.

“In total 30,880 civilians were killed in 6,942 attacks. The remaining 25,030 people killed were members of the Security Forces or Terror Groups.

“Additionally, 21,532 civilians were abducted in 2,670 attacks. Another 89 people abducted were members of the Security Forces or Terror Groups.

“There were frequent clashes between Security Forces and Terror Groups and between Terror Groups themselves.

“This had an impact on civilians too. In 3,028 attacks (out of the 9,970 attacks with killings) only non-civilians were killed.

“4,377 were members of the security forces and 19,323 members of terror groups.

“In 35 attacks (out of the 2,705 attacks with abductions) only non-civilians were abducted: 68 belonging to the security forces and 2 to terror groups.”

Which religious affiliation were more victims?

The data revealed that Nigerian Christians were targeted by terrorists more frequently than other religious groups.

Of the 30,880 civilians killed over the four years, 16,769 were Christians and 6,235 were Muslims.

Out of 21,532 civilians abducted, 11,185 were Christians and 7,899 were Muslims.

The attackers killed 154 African Traditional Religionists (ATRs) and abducted 184.

However, the religious identity of 7,722 civilians killed and 2,264 abducted remains unknown.

The ratio of Christians to Muslims killed increased significantly when accounting for the religious composition of the states.

Overall, the ratio of Christians to Muslims killed is 2.7:1, while the ratio of Christians to Muslims abducted is 1.4:1.

The report notes that the ratio of Christians to Muslims killed rises to 6.5:1 when adjusting for population sizes.

Similarly, the ratio of Christians to Muslims abducted increases to 5.1:1.

Civilian deaths

ORFA highlighted on Thursday that ISIS or al-Qaeda affiliates were responsible for only a small portion of civilian deaths during the four years.

“Across the country, over 11,000 incidents of extreme violence took place during the data period, with more than 55,000 killings and 21,000 abductions,” the ORFA statement emphasized.

The statement, signed by Data Scientist Frans Vierhout, titled: “Blind Eyes to Bloodshed: Fulani Ethnic Militia Killing Nigerian Civilians Unopposed.”

A new study, meanwhile, reveals mass killings by terrorists in Nigerian communities over four years, from October 2019 to September 2023.

The statement released on Thursday also detailed the mass killings, which revealed that “mass killings, abductions and torture of whole families go largely unchallenged as military pursue targets hundreds of miles away, finds four-year data project.

“Islamist extremists enjoy relative freedom to carry out atrocities against civilians in large regions of Nigeria, according to data scientists behind a four-year study.

“Researchers at the ORFA recorded over 55,000 killings and mapped thousands of farm massacres and mass abductions in four years, including in Nigeria’s fragile North Central Zone and Southern Kaduna.”

“A little-known terror group, the Fulani Ethnic Militia or FEM, commits mass killings hundreds of times a year through this region,” it reported.

About ORFA

The Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA) is a research, training, and advocacy program, with the mission to promote religious freedom on the continent.

It considers religious freedom as a broad and multidimensional concept that needs to be protected in all spheres of society.

According to ORFA, religious freedom is at the intersection of many fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, freedom of conscience, and freedom of assembly.

It asserted that religious freedom is much more than freedom of worship but involves the freedom to live and express one’s religion individually and collectively.

This includes the family sphere, the school sphere, the business sphere, and the cultural sphere.

Consequently, it views restrictions on religious expression in any sphere of society, whether caused by state or non-state actors, as restrictions on religious freedom.

About ISIS

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, also known as ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant), is a jihadist militant group and terrorist organization.

It emerged from al-Qaeda in Iraq and gained prominence during the Syrian Civil War.

ISIS, which had is infamous for its brutal tactics, including mass executions, beheadings, and the destruction of cultural heritage sites.

The group declared a caliphate in 2014, aiming to establish an Islamic state governed by strict Sharia law.

It controlled significant territories in Iraq and Syria at their peak.

It has, however, since lost most of their territory due to military operations by various international coalitions.

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